HOUSING association and housebuilder Curo has secured permission to build 208 homes on the Withies Green site in Keynsham.
The development south of the A4 Bath Road will comprise 168 houses and 40 flats. Of these, 62 affordable properties will be managed by Curo long-term, with 47 designated for social rent and 15 for shared ownership.
The scheme will feature a range of two and two-and-a-half-storey homes with dormer windows, alongside three-storey properties lining the main route through the site and fronting the Bath Road.
It will include new sports pitches – one on the north of the site for Two Rivers CofE Primary School and one on the southern end for public use.
At a meeting of Bath & North East Somerset planning committee, an objection to the scheme was raised by a police Designing Out Crime officer, who said the layout of segregated paths and “remote” parking areas might lead to antisocial behaviour and crime.
But a spokesman for Curo said paths and parking areas were overlooked by houses, providing natural surveillance, and that omitting the paths would make pedestrian journeys longer.
Keynsham councillor Andy Wait said there was much to learn from the adjacent Hygge Park housing development which, he said, suffered from drainage and flooding issues and from which drivers had great difficulty turning right onto the already traffic-clogged Bath Road.
The meeting was told that traffic access from the new development to the road would be via a signal-controlled junction. There will also be a road linking the new development to Hygge Park.
Some members were concerned that the proposed southern sport pitch would not have changing facilities, toilets or parking, with Councillor Duncan Hounsell (Saltford) suggesting it would have been better left as green space or a managed park.
Councillor Shaun Hughes reminded the meeting that Curo’s outline scheme, which was approved last year, attracted more than 600 objections.
He said that although the inclusion of 30% affordable homes, allotments and an orchard were welcome, there were still concerns.
“I’m hoping we’re building a community here, not just another housing estate,” he said.
But members accepted council officers’ recommendation to approve the scheme and said they hoped the developers would listen to their concerns and make improvements.
Outline planning permission was granted in 2022 after a four-year planning battle between the council and developers Mctaggart and Mickel, before the land was then acquired by Curo.
Welcoming the granting of planning permission, Stuart Smith, director of technical at Curo, said: “We’re excited to create something that will genuinely benefit the town, providing the things Keynsham needs like highway improvements and more recreational spaces.
“We will also be contributing around £2 million in Community Infrastructure Levy which will help fund local improvements, with £300,000 going directly to Keynsham Town.”
208 homes approved at Withies Green, Keynsham
